Archive | June, 2018

When you know, respect and live the fundamental truths of life, your journey becomes easier and your load much lighter.

Here then is part 1 of the fundamental truths of online marketing, of life, and of the universe. Okay, maybe they’re not so grand as all that – I’ll let you decide.

Golden Rule #1: You are responsible for your own success. Daunting, isn’t it? When you fully realize that you and you alone are responsible for your success or failure – that you’ve no one to blame or congratulate but yourself – it can almost take your breath away. However, this can also be the most empowering realization you will ever have because you realize that your destiny is in your own hands. It is up to you to make this the life you choose, not the life you settle for.

Take this a step further and you’ll find that you are also responsible for your own happiness as well. You can choose at this very moment to be happy or unhappy, regardless of your circumstances. You can choose to reach out to others or not, you can choose to get up early to work on your business or not – everything is in YOUR hands – it’s up to you to take full responsibility for your life and your success.

And if you’re saying to yourself, “I already knew this,” then allow me to ask you a question: Have you blamed anyone else in the last 48 hours for your own failure or shortcomings? Have you thought something like, “If only my spouse would ____, then I could _____?” Or “If only my parents had ____, then I could have ____?” It’s human nature to want to place the responsibility on others, but it’s the mark of someone destined for great success to take full and complete responsibility for their own life.

Golden Rule #2: Do what you’re good at and you’ll unlock the door to personal and financial success. (And if it’s also the thing you love doing, so much the better.) We all have our own talents and aptitudes, and when we follow those instead of trying to be what we’re not, we’re already halfway to success. When you do what you’re good at and what you love, you naturally enjoy more energy and more happiness, which propels you further and faster down the path to success. And the passion you demonstrate for your area of expertise is contagious – your readers and customers will sense it and want very much to be a part of it.

Imagine 2 people entering a niche – one because he knows there’s money to be made in it, the other because she loves it. It’s rather obvious who is likely to experience more success, isn’t it? Personal and financial success are far easier to access when you’re doing what comes naturally to you.

Golden Rule #3: If you’re not improving, you’re falling behind. Staying ahead of your online competitors isn’t difficult – you simply need to improve one aspect of your knowledge or business every single day. And it’s in this constant improvement that you will find pride, confidence and security. Not to mention the fact that you will become the go-to person in your niche.

Golden Rule #4: Give to receive. No, I’m not necessarily talking about giving away your knowledge or products, although there are times when this can add greatly to your business. Rather, you want to always be on the lookout for ways to add value to people’s lives, especially the lives of your customers. Dedicate yourself to solving their problems or making their lives better, and you’ll be rewarded many times over. To paraphrase Zig Ziglar, give enough people what they want and you’ll get what you want.

Golden Rule #5: Be really really good, or possibly even great – but forget perfection. You’ve heard that money loves speed, and that’s especially true on the Internet. So while you want to put out great products, well written emails and so forth, never expect them to be perfect. Get them done and get them out, not sitting on your computer waiting for the day you perfect them.

Golden Rule #6: To succeed you MUST believe in yourself. The belief you can and will succeed always proceeds progress and success. In other words, to achieve it you must first believe it, and that goes double for believing in your own abilities, self-worth, creativity and perseverance.

Golden Rule #7: The fastest way to increase belief in yourself is to make immediate progress. You might not yet believe that you can build a multi-million dollar empire on the net, but do you believe you can take the first step in that direction? Then don’t hesitate – take that first step and then the next, and with each subsequent step your belief in yourself will continue to grow.

Golden Rule #8: Focus on accentuating your positives. If you’re really good at writing content but you don’t like the technical side of online marketing, find someone to handle that aspect for you so that you can concentrate on content creation. If you’re working in three niches but you only enjoy two of them, sell the third website and just focus on what you love doing. And if you’ve got a bad habit like spending too much time on forums, replace that habit with something you like equally as well, such as writing emails to your list. When you focus on growing the positive rather than eliminating the negative, you’ll make progress much faster.

These are the first 8 Golden Rules of Internet Marketing. Next month we’ll tackle part two, but in the mean time you’ve got your hands full with these. You might want to focus on one rule a day for the next 8 days and see how you can use them to improve both your personal life and your online business.

You might want to save this and keep it next to your computer. Then next time you’re stuck for a headline, just refer back to it to get your creative juices flowing. And don’t save this just for sales letters – you can use this cheat sheet for any headline – newsletter subject lines, blog post headlines, article headlines, etc.

HINT: You can also use this cheat sheet when you’re stuck for ideas of what to write about!

Tie Into Breaking News – anytime you can tie your writing into current events you’ll grab more eyeballs.

Call Out Your Reader – is your reader somehow missing the boat? Call them on it in the headline.

Offer a Proposition – if you give me 5 minutes, I’ll show you how to erase 10 years from your face.

Be Shocking – this one is a little risky but the benefit can be tremendous. Note: Be sure you’re not using shock value simply for the sake of shock – it’s also got to tie directly into your message.

Use Sex – yes, sex captures attention, and if you can tie it into your message, so much the better. Just make sure it’s not x-rated.

Be an Advocate – your reader has enemies, so take the position of advocate for your reader. For example, if you’re offering natural remedies, the enemy might be profit seeking drug companies pushing deadly pills to make a fast buck.

Curiosity – the more curious the better. People have an insatiable need to KNOW, so if you can make them curious enough in the headline, they won’t be able to leave until they find the answer in your copy.

Odd Cause and Effect – can you erase acne with a frying pan? Or maybe show someone how to increase their income by spending MORE? Then you might have a great headline.

Let’s Make a Deal! – are you making a dynamite offer that gives tremendous value for a relatively low price? Or offering tremendous benefits just for reading your blog post? Then state it right there in the headline.

Offer Revenge – who doesn’t want to get even with the person or business who did them wrong? Promise them in your headline that they can, and they’ll read your copy to the end.

Tell a Story – no, you won’t tell the whole story in the headline, but you can get a good start on one. What happens when someone says to you, “Once upon a time…” You’re riveted, right? It’s in our programming to listen closely to stories, and they are still one of the best, yet least utilized tools in our marketing arsenals.

Ask a Hot Question – “Do you know 4 ways to make $1000 cash in the next 3 hours?” “How can you get people to obey your every wish?” You get the idea.

Do the “If” or “When” Shuffle – “If you like ___, you’ll love ___.” or “When you take these 3 steps, you’ll get this benefit.”

Do the “If” and “Then” Sequence – “If you do x, then you’ll get y.”

Show Frustration – “Don’t you hate it when you spend an hour writing the perfect email – and no one responds?”

Name Drop – “Dustin Hoffman confided to me that…” You get that point.

Hit The Emotional Button – “Stop living in fear of…” Few things grab your readers’ or prospects’ attention like accessing their emotions.

Add or Solve a Mystery – Is there something in your niche that hasn’t been solved, and you may have the answer? Or can you create a mystery of your own?

Use a Startling/Bizarre/Attention Grabbing Photo/Picture – have you seen those ads that use weird faces? Usually the picture has nothing to do with the ad, but you look anyway. If you can find an attention grabbing photo that DOES go with your writing, by all means place it at the top. Photos that need explanation are the best, since people will read your copy to find out what’s happening in the picture.

Use Urgency – Setting a deadline in the headline eliminates the reader’s desire to procrastinate reading what you’ve got to say. “World Ends at 5 p.m. Today!”

Be Scandalous – can you create a scandal or expose one in your niche? Then you may have the hottest headline yet.

Confirm Their Fear – if your readers already hold a fear or a suspicion, go ahead and confirm it – they’ll appreciate the validation and be open to what you have to say.

Debunk a Myth – is there a common line of thought in your niche that just isn’t true? Debunk it and you’ll be the instant authority in your reader’s eyes.

Make a Bold Prediction – go out on that limb to make a startling prediction and not only will people read your writing – they’re also more likely to remember what you say.

Break News – being one of the first to report a new development makes for a great headline and excellent reading.

Attack – your reader’s don’t like something or someone – maybe it’s as mundane as housework, or perhaps it’s the government, the media, banks or the drudgery of answering emails. Whatever it is, attack it head on and then offer a solution.

Offer a Cheaper, Easier, Faster or Better Solution – your readers have a problem and you’ve got a superior solution, so let them know that in the headline.

Use an Off-The-Wall or Compelling Quote – “You Can’t Handle The Truth!” or “I Buy When Other People Are Selling” come to mind.

…articles, information products, videos, etc.

As online marketers, the bulk of the information we convey is in the form of, “How to…” How to get more traffic, how to make a product, how to use social media to sell more stuff, etc.

And this goes for most every other niche as well. How to grow bigger tomatoes, how to bake a tastier bread, how to take better photos and so forth.

This is the stuff our information businesses are built upon, yet it isn’t the stuff that is going to stick in your customers’ brains. If you want to be remembered, you’re going to have to go beyond the ordinary “how-to” into entirely different realms of writing and speaking.

So what do people remember?

Stories. This is the most obvious alternative to the “how to” genre, and it’s also a great vehicle for teaching. If you can incorporate your “how to” information inside of a story, you will make your lesson highly memorable.

Humor. They might not remember exactly what you said, but they’ll remember how funny they thought it was. Anytime you can add some humor, by all means do so. And if you don’t think of yourself as being naturally funny, find a book that teaches you how to use humor in your writing and speaking. “Finding the Funny Fast: How to Create Quick Humor to Connect with Clients, Coworkers and Crowds” by Jan McInnis is a good choice. So is “The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You’re Not” by John Vorhaus.

Emotion. Upset about something? Rant on. Particularly emotional on a certain topic? Let your feelings show. The more emotional – positive or negative – your writing is, the more memorable it becomes. Think of it as spilling your guts and you’ll get the idea.

Opinion. Read a newspaper cover to cover and what are you likely to remember the most? Usually it’s an opinion piece. If you don’t have strong opinions about what’s going on in your niche, get some and then write about what you think. Don’t worry about annoying some of your readers – if you’re trying to appeal to everyone, you’ll appeal to no one. And those who agree with you will rally around you and follow you to the ends of the Internet. Some of my very best writing originated from a strong opinion I held – and these are also the pieces for which I’ve received the most positive feedback.

Problems. So you write a blog on camping, and on your last trip you did something really stupid? Write about it. The last thing people want is to read about your perfect ANYTHING (perfect is BORING). What people do want to read is what problems have you faced and how in the world did you overcome them? First, it shows that you’re human. Second, it demonstrates that if you can overcome an obstacle, then so can they. And yes, reading or hearing about someone else’s problems is highly memorable. So go ahead and pull back the curtain to reveal the real, human, vulnerable, fallible you.

Inspiration. Can you write a piece that inspires others? Can you record a video that motivates others to reach their goals? Inspirational material is highly memorable because it touches the heart, and you can combine it with storytelling for an even more dramatic effect. For example, telling the story of a little girl who overcame her handicaps to go on and become a world class artist/musician/athlete is truly inspiring.

Yourself. There’s the kind of writing we do to try to impress our teachers and editors. Then there’s the kind of writing we do to impress our readers. And both of these kinds of writing are to be avoided. Why? Because all you want to do is write from the heart. Be yourself. Let who you are shine through in your writing. Don’t put on airs, don’t use big words. Little ones will work just fine.

Write as though you’re speaking to a friend and your writing will not only be more memorable, it’ll also be enjoyed and passed around a great deal more often as well.